Change (24 page)

Tommy looked
around them. Her outburst probably drew some attention. She was
gasping, struggling to breathe.

“
I'm not
lying. I've met her. I believe it happened just after she was
killed. She appeared right in front of me wearing a crystal blue
dress, a small bump visible underneath the soft material. She
wanted you to know something, she was adamant you needed to know
it, your brother, he-”

“
Stop!” she
sobbed. Her heart broke in her chest as the tears fell down her
face. She felt the bile rise in her throat.

“
Cora, I'm
sorry. I thought-”

“
Take me
home.”

“
Of course,”
he muttered without looking at her.

Cora skated
ahead of Tommy, but the tears made visibility hard and she bumped
into someone. Mumbling an apology, she jumped off the ice and
roughly pulled off the boots before slamming them down on the
counter to quickly receive her trainers. She marched to his car and
waited for him to drive her home.

She didn't
speak to Tommy. She couldn’t think about what he’d said. He had to
be wrong. He had to be. Her heart felt fit to bursting. Her lip
wobbled but she bit it, holding on. He stopped the car outside the
shop and still didn’t say anything. He simply sat in the driver’s
seat with the engine running. She pushed open the door, welcoming
the cool breeze that caressed her sticky face from the
tears.

Entering the
shop, she couldn’t hold back the flood of grief. It consumed her,
sucking the air from her lungs. She dropped heavily to her knees
and sobbed.

24

BUBBLE
RUN

“
How dare
Tommy say those things!” Eli was standing at the door with his
hands balled into tight fists at his side.

They were all
gathered in Tabitha's living room. Jack had his arms wrapped around
her, but she was barely holding it together, even with his attempts
to comfort her. Her body was shaking so violently she was sure her
teeth would smash.

“
It has to be
his game plan,” Clay snarled.

“
What did he
say exactly?” Tabitha asked.

Cora looked at
Ayden who was ashen white whilst he sat on the floor in front of
her. His eyes were hard ice as they looked at her, waiting for her
to answer Tabitha’s question.

“
He said he'd
seen Mum and that she wanted me to know something, he said that...
that my brother...” Cora broke down again. She couldn’t think about
her sibling, the one she would never meet, one Tommy had so
flippantly put a sex to.

“
I could
bloody kill him!” Jack snapped holding her tighter as her shoulders
shook from the force of her tears.

“
Well, we
could all do that, Jack, but right now what Cora needs is you
remaining calm.”

Jack kissed
her head, muttering under his breath. She didn’t catch the words
due to the blood that was pumping around her head.

She’d planned
on not saying anything about what Tommy had said until tomorrow,
but they'd heard her come home and then found her on the floor in
the shop. She’d simply broke. Her sobs had shocked them all. It had
taken Eli and Ayden's strength to stop Jack from following, running
after Tommy’s car. Cora was sure Jack could do it easily with the
help of his element.

“
Ayden, are
you okay?” Tabitha asked, her hand brushing his
shoulder.

“
I don't
know,” Ayden whispered.

Cora looked at
Ayden and saw something cross his face. The ice in his eyes had
melted, the water nearly brimming over. He’d only just started to
act like Ayden again. They’d both just come to terms with the fact
that life moved on and they needed to do the same.

“
Is it true,
Ayden?” she asked. She could feel every pair of eyes on the two of
them.

“
Cora...”

“
Ayden, is
Tommy right? Do I have a brother?”

“
The way that
Tommy told you, it is wrong. He had no right-”

“
Ayden!”

The room
stilled as everyone watched them.

“
Yes, it is
true. We were having a boy.”

“
Why haven’t
you told us, Ayden?” Tabitha murmured.

“
I couldn’t...
it didn’t change anything... I’ve lost them.”

She broke
again, and watched as the grief swallowed Ayden.

“
Come on,
let's get you to bed.”Jack lifted her into his arms and carried her
to the bedroom.

“
Jack, don't
leave me,” she whimpered.

“
I'm not going
anywhere, lovely.”

She heard the
rustle of clothing as he pulled the covers back and then felt his
warm body move closer to hers. Tucking her head under his chin,
breathing in his scent and the warmth of his body, her eyes
drooped. Taking a deep breath, she let sleep take her.

*

She woke up to
the muffled sound of people talking. The words were hard to make
out but she could sense the angry edge to them. Jack was gone from
the bed, but the space he’d vacated was still warm, telling her
that he'd only just left.

She sat up and
winced as a horrendous pain stabbed behind her eyes. She found she
always got a headache if she cried like she had last night. Pushing
aside the covers and gasping as the cold hit her, she pulled on her
dressing gown and made her way to the kitchen.

The noise and
chatter stopped once she entered the room which meant they were
talking about last night, about her. Jack silently walked towards
her, his lips brushing her forehead and then resting his head
against hers. He didn’t need to speak. This alone was what she
needed. She was tired of talking and speaking about what had
happened. If she allowed it, it would consume her.

She took a
deep breath, savouring the peace he gave her, and then moved back.
She had to address it, had to tell them that they couldn’t think
about the revelation of last night. “I'm not going to dwell on it.
I can’t think about my mum, or the brother I’ve lost without losing
it myself. I need to deal with this in my own time. I’m mad at you,
Ayden.”

“
I know, and
I’m sorry that you are.”

Nodding her
head, she couldn’t think of anything else to say. “I’m going to
think about today and enjoy it, don’t we have a date?”

“
Yeah, but I
was going to cancel it.”

“
Don't.” She
put her lips to his.

He smiled, the
dimples in his cheeks popping. “Right, well. I will sort out the
last of the details. Go get yourself ready and I will pick you
up.”

He left the
flat with a smile on his face.

“
Cora...”

“
Don't, Ayden.
I know you are sorry, but at this moment, I can’t tell you that it
is okay that you kept it from me. It isn’t. I love you, I know that
what you did, you did to protect me. Sometimes I don’t need the
protection; I need the honesty, the truth, to help me get through
things like this.”

Ayden nodded
his head, his eyes shimmered with tears. She couldn’t deal with
this today. She didn’t need to. Accepting the toast from Tabitha,
she ate it like nothing had happened. It was like putting cardboard
into her mouth and chewing.

*

Jack held her
hand as they walked down the main street. The sun was shining, the
sky cloudless, a striking blue in colour, but it was still slightly
chilly. Jack squeezed her hand, a touch of comfort, as they rounded
the corner. She knew what was coming next. She saw the trees, the
branches were still bare, and looked at the gap.

The pebbled
drive that led to her mother’s front door was already too much. Her
heart stumbled in her chest as she fought for control. Before she
could see the house, Jack stopped just before the gap and jumped
over Andrew Bruton's fence.

“
Jack?” she
said swallowing the lump in her throat. She would concentrate on
the date. She didn’t need to think about the house.

“
You'll see,”
he said and smiled at her.

He helped her
over the fence, although he didn’t need to, but when it came to the
little beck, they both flew across it. She felt the giddiness of
freedom, especially when she could use her powers without having
the responsibility of saving lives. She stopped, her footing
slipping on the still wet grass. In front of them sat a large,
transparent ball. A ball a dinosaur would use to play football
with. “What the hell is that?”

“
What?” he
said with a grin, like he couldn’t see it.

“
The bubble
thing?”

“
That, my
lovely, is what we are doing on our date.”

He picked her
up and swung her around planting a noisy kiss on her mouth. She
felt breathless after the kiss and was grateful Jack put her on the
ground and grabbed her hand so she could keep her
balance.

Jack stopped
right next to the bubble and looked down the hill. Bruton’s farm
was larger than you would believe and they’d only ever been as far
as the stables. Here, they were stood high up in the field,
practically right next to Andrew's house looking down at the fall
below them.

“
Does Andrew
know we are here?”

“
I've cleared
it with him, don't worry. He was interested to see what I had
planned. Right, get in.”

“
Eh? Get in
that?”

“
Yes,” he
laughed. “Inside this big bubble, as you like to call it, are two
places where we strap ourselves in, then we roll down
it.”

“
Roll down a
massive hill?” she asked, suddenly feeling ill. “I’ll throw
up.”

Jack lifted
her and put her in the bubble.

“
Jack, I’ll
throw up and it will land on you,” she giggled. The sound of her
voice in the bubble sounded strange, it was like a nasally
echo.

“
Throw up all
you want. I just want to see you smile.”

She crawled
along the floor, feeling the soft cushion of the bubble as her
knees moved across the usually hard grass.

“
Cora, what
are you doing?” Jack chuckled.

“
I don't know.
I daren’t stand up just in case it decides to take off before I’m
strapped in,” she said, grinning.

“
Let me help
you.”

Jack stepped
into the bubble and strapped her in. He whistled as he did. Her
heart started pounding with nerves. What if she did throw up? He
strapped himself in. Her breath quickened and her stomach was tying
itself into knots. She'd missed the feeling of adrenaline coursing
through her body. It was a good thing; it made her feel alive. Jack
gave her a cocky grin which set the ball of lust alight in her
chest.

“
How do we get
down the hill?”

“
I can help
with that,” Eli spoke.

Cora attempted
to turn around and look at Eli, but the ball was already
moving.

She closed her
eyes and let a little squeal of excitement escape her lips. The
force on her body grew as the ball tumbled faster. She felt the
bounce as the ball hit the grass and continued its journey down the
hill. She screamed and then laughed. Jack was howling next to her.
All too soon the ball slowed and finally came to a stop.

Fearing that
when she opened her eyes the world would spin, she took several
deep breaths.

“
You’re going
to hurl aren’t you?” Jack asked nervously.

She laughed
and opened her eyes. “I would, just to see your reaction. That was
amazing!”

Jack
unstrapped himself and then moved to her. Her head was spinning,
making it appear like Jack had two sets of eyes. Very pretty eyes
though.

She shook her
head just as the last strap broke free and she fell onto Jack. Her
legs weren't exactly steady underneath her yet. Jack leant over
her. His Cupid bow lips smirked at her as she lifted her hand and
brushed his hair to one side. She loved the feel of it moving
through her fingers. She saw the heat flare up in his eyes as he
moved closer, his nose touching hers.

She took a
deep breath and waited. She loved the build up, knowing that those
lips were going to touch hers at any second. His lips met hers,
softly at first, and then he deepened the kiss. She lay back
enjoying the feel of his tongue caressing hers. Her heart beat
accelerated. Her arms found their way around his neck as she pulled
him closer.

“
Get a
room!”

They jerked
apart and looked at Eli who'd made the comment. The blush in her
cheeks burned. Jack looked at her and brushed his fingertip along
her cheek, tracing the heat. “You're beautiful.”

She smiled and
pulled him down for another kiss, ignoring Eli’s disgusting
groan.

“
When do we
get to have a go?” Eli asked.

Jack growled
against her lips. “Get lost, Eli,” he murmured, breaking the
kiss.